This man is right. Listen to him.

I’ve heard it said that not everybody thinks the same…

When someone who I am a huge fan of gets elected, or wins something, I (admittedly, naively) find it odd that someone might criticize such an amazing example of humanity. This person should be held in the highest regard, have their every word published for posterity, and nobody should ever doubt their dealings in any matter whatsoever.

Or something like that. But it’s a fact of life/business/art, that there are as many opinions as there are people expressing them.

Being able to handle criticism is an important skill for almost any business. When your business involves esthetic and is wrapped in opinion and taste, handling criticism is vital. So how are designers/business owners to handle criticism?

1. Gracefully.

Maybe there is some truth in it. Count to 10, take a step back, slowly put down that glass before you hurt someone and realise that the jerk may have a point. It is possible that your eyesight is failing, your education counts for nothing, you are in the wrong career and should leave it up to the professionals. Or perhaps that is just what you heard when the critic said “I’m not sure if that will work for us.” So your client doesn’t like your first draft – listen to feedback, draw up another one and do it better.

2. Happily.

Constructive criticism means that there is room for improvement and the client wants it done right. If you didn’t get any feedback at all, how do you know the client is cutting their losses and taking their business elsewhere, thanking their stars that they don’t have to deal with YOU again? You may have done everything right, but the client may have changed their mind.

3. Quietly.

‘Less is more’ is not just an adage to design by. Explaining away your every move can often come across as defensive, and the chances are that the client doesn’t want to hear your dissertation  on why you thought 12pt Adobe Jensen Pro was the perfect font. Really, your excuses don’t matter – technical differences aside – unless you are asked for them. When people want to know why you did something, they will use a phrase like ‘why did you do that?’. Otherwise, shut up!

4. Objectively.

As a trained, fine artist and graphic designer, I know the difference between art and business. When you are designing for business, there has to be a return on investment. The design has to work, have a point, a target audience, a message and a goal. It’s not art! It may be incredibly creative, on the cutting edge of style and fashion and tip the design world on it’s ear, but if it’s not done for it’s own sake, it’s business, not art. Your depiction of Venus coming out of her shell in a pop art style may be interesting to you, but if it doesn’t fit the creative brief, drag it to the trash (either physically or electronically).

5. Respectfully.

Many designers find it more difficult to be their own client, because they know the possibilities are endless. You may not have time restraints, or a tight budget, so when you are designing for your own business, you can make a million changes and you only have yourself to blame. But when you aren’t the client, at least recognise who is paying the bills. Yes, you may have had a hundred better ideas for the layout of font choice, but at the end of the day, you are not the client. If the client makes some bad decisions (objectively bad) it is up to you to educate them to make the right decisions. But (yes this paragraph has a lot of buts) it still is not your funeral – so let go!

6. Professionally.

All the above points should point you in the direction of professionalism and vice versa. How you handle criticism has as much to do with your brand as everything else you do in business. It is what keeps the creative and constructive process moving and produces happy clients. And happy clients are what we all need. Or want to be.
*Photograph reproduced from here. Objections? Please contact NBurmanDesign.

You want the best for your business so you finally hired a graphic designer to take care of your print work. No matter what kind of job it is – letterheads, business cards, brochures, flyers – there are things you can do to save money and still get the job done right.

1. Spell check.

Before you email the information as you want it to appear on your business cards, double check the spelling and spelling. Make sure punctuation is exactly as it should be (particularly in things like double-barreled surnames and qualifications).

2. Phone printers for pricing.

There are hundreds of printers in almost any given city, and you may have worked with some yourself and got some great results. You might want to build up a rapport with your local printer too.

3. Pick up the job yourself.

Unless you live miles from civilization, you will save money by picking up the print job from the printers. Designers usually don’t do this anyhow, but would charge a premium if they are asked to pick a job up for you.

4. Die-cut jobs

If the card is thin enough (don’t do this with business cards – they are too small) invest in a steel ruler and sharp knife, recruit a couple of colleagues and save, This may be tricky with curves, but there is no reason why you can’t do a prefectly acceptable job with the straight lines.

5. Fold it.

Once again, a little DIY and common sense will save you cash. Using a blunt dinner knife and a straight edge, it is easy to make hard edged folds. If possible, score on the non-printed side.

6. Use Stock Photography.

If it’s not in your budget to use custom photography or illustration, take advantage of the large choice offered by stock libraries. And offer to scour the sites yourself, saving your designer precious time. The more time your designer spends on type and layout, the better your job is going to be.

7. Proof Read!

Yes, read everything and read it twice. Pass the proof to others in the office, or friends, so they can spot things you may over look. it sounds like advice from your grade 9 English teacher, but it’s good advice. Very few printers will return business cards with errors after the artwork has been approved.

8. Pass Along Referrals

You might want to do this after job completed. But if you’re pleased with the service, tell someone else and pass their name on to the designer. Helping others is just the right thing to do – and your designer might have a referral plan to give you kick backs, so everyone wins.

Next time you order artwork for a print job, ask if there is anything you can do to help the job run a little smoother. Business cards, letterheads, brochures and other print work always benefits  from an extra pair of hands – or eyes.

You’ve picked a web designer, paid the deposit and now you sit back and watch you’re online presence before your very browser. Well, not exactly. There are things you can do to save yourself money. After all, you run a small business and every dollar counts.

1. Register the Domain

For people that like domains, this is fun. It’s just like naming a child or pet. There are some things to consider to make it user friendly, however. Don’t pick one too long. Make sure that if it has several words in it, there isn’t a hidden undesirable word in the middle. Make it easy to remember, and if you are buying extra domains to forward to your main site, make sure there is content on each of those pages. Google won’t care about empty domains – they won’t add anything to your rankings.

2. Prepare your Content

If you did OK in high school, and paid attention in English, you may be able to handle the content of the site yourself. Being a small business owner, you may already be comfortable writing about yourself and your business. For some this comes naturally. Others (especially those with a busy schedule) will need a copy writer. I highly recommend using a copywriter anyway, but in the interests of cutting costs (and if you have the skills) there is no reason why you can’t do it yourself.

3. Proofread Your Content

Of course you wouldn’t include typographical errors on purpose, but they may be there anyhow. Having someone else read through what you wrote is essential before you let your customers judge you for lack of attention to detail. Pick a handful of people in your address book and forward them your literary masterpiece.

4. Choose the Images

Stock libraries are everywhere, and most have a fantastic range of images that are ready for adding to your website. Search for subjects, moods or colours to find the ones that will match your site. Download each one, zip it and email to your designer. They will thank you for it!

5. Promotion

Once your site is live, nobody will know it’s there. This is where you come in. Login to Facebook, Twitter, or whatever else you use for networking and post messages announcing the arrival of your new baby. Include quotes from the home page, a summary of what the site is about, or a teaser line; something like ‘Want to know what’s new in town?’ or something imaginative, linked with your site’s subject.

6. Your Email Signature

Naturally, you will want everyone who gets an email from you to know that you have a website, so add a link to your signature. Most email clients will let you use HTML. Instead of the unsightly http://www.domainname.com, use text that describes your site, then make it a link to your site. Using the site name is a good idea, or a line to describe what the site is about.

7. Blogging

Blogs are a great way to drive traffic to your site. Write about the launch of your site; copy/paste excerpts with catchy headings; include pictures from the site. Your blog will act as an inward link and when you promote your blog on places like Blog Catalog you will be attracting even more people to your site via your blog.

8. Blogging Part 2

Visit other blogs and post comments, including your website address. Instead of using your name in the Name box, use a description of your site. Your name will be the link to your site, so just like other inward links, the link will describe your site for you when the blog is crawled by Google. Google knows that http://www.JimmyPhotography.com is the link to http://www.JimmyPhotography.com, but if you use Pro Wedding Photographer, Google has just learned what the site is actually about.

9. Browse

Knowing your competition is imperative. Google (or, I guess, BING) the search terms that you think people would use to find your site, and check out the other results. Find out what they are using for content, how they are marketing themselves, and how they talk about their business. If you have your site set up on a Content Management System (so you can edit your own site), this will help you edit and write your content. It will also help you choose images, because you can see the stock images that everyone else uses. The more you visit stock libraries, the more often you will see familiar images pop up everywhere. Try something different, look a little different, and catch someone’s eye.

10.Watch the Numbers

Ask your designer/developer to set up your site with Google Analytics so you can see how many people are visiting your site. I should warn you – this activity is highly addicting! Just like watching stock prices go up and down, you will be intrigued by the number of people visiting your site, where they come from, where they are going and how long they stay. You can also bug your developer (nicely) about where and how people are visiting and see if there is anything you can do to promote the numbers, or get results from other places. You may just have to quit your job to watch Analytics!

So that’s ten things you can do to help the process. This isn’t doing work for the designer or developer, this is just helping the process along, and in some cases saving you money. Hope you love your website!

With only 14 floors in the building, you won't have long to make an impression.

Imagine you’re in an elevator. The person standing beside you strikes up a conversation and asks what you do.

You may already have a 30 second ‘what I do’ speech prepared. You may have practised it in the mirror this morning. But instead of telling them what you do, what if you could just show them? Instead of rambling for half a minute, pull out your iPhone, touch the screen twice and let your new audience see (and hear) exactly what it is you do.

A short video clip – motion graphics, Flash or video – can advertise and describe what you do while conveying to your audience how well you do it. The quality of the movie, the audio track, the resolution of the images and your logo stamped at the end all go to enforcing your brand and leaving an impression with your audience.

I am sure you can do the same (or similar) thing with other smartphones, but the iPhone and iPod Touch make it particularly easy.

Here is my elevator pitch:

Call NBurman Design to find out how you can get a portable video (along with a custom audio track) that says a lot more than your business card ever could.

… You Need a Megaphone

To yell your message to as many people as possible. Twenty four hours a day, worldwide, even when you sleep. You never know when people are looking for the what you have or have to say and you want to be ready to answer their questions when they ask, not when you happen to be open for business.
A professionally designed and built website will show visitors what you do, how you do it and how well you do it. Non-stop.

… You Need a Fridge Door

To show off your best stuff – the job you just completed, the projects you are most proud of, or your best sellers. Show off online to millions of people with a gallery that makes all your work shine.

… You Need a Secretary

To take messages for you while you are gone, or sleeping. An online form can collect the information you want from visitors, send it to you as an email and let you respond when you have time. Or are awake. And this secretary won’t take sick days just before a long weekend or ask for a raise.

… You Need an iPod

To give your site a backing track. An online mp3 player has unlimited possibilities and sounds as good (and loud) as your visitors sound system. Make fans, entertain clients and make your website sing with a user controllable audio track. (Batteries not included).

.. . You Need a Movie Screen

To play videos. No, not your Ed Wood collection – the ones that show off your business. Instructional movies, online ads or movies that describe what you do better than words.

… You Need a Flyer Service

How else are you going to get your PDFs to your massive audience – by foot? Providing brochures, flyers and other literature online in PDF format is ecologically smart, cost effective and the most efficient way to reach everyone that can reach your site. Mass marketing, endless reproductions, and all for the price of one single digital file.

A professionally built website does more than just you a place to link to at the bottom of your emails. It builds your businesses, adds to your marketing plan and helps you save money. It’s the one place you need to look your best.

I recently blogged about Twitter, and it’s benefits to a business. But along the same avenue of life being the same thing online as offline, I made a list of things to help you choose friends – whether these friends are likely to meet you for coffee or not.

1. Choose Friends with Similar Interests. If you want your business to be heard, online and in print, you are going to need to associate with people like you. People like being with people they like (believe it or not).

2. Abandon Friends Who Talk Negatively. If a friend runs you down, don’t call them again. If they mock your business, hang up. If they enjoy talking about events that make you sick, quit following them. I just unfollowed someone who posted a link labelled ‘Man throws baby out of car’. WHY would I click that?

3. Talk Positively to Your Friends. Sarcasm and bitterness may work in real comedy, but in conversation and friendships they can be wearing. Complimenting a colleague should not be considered a come-on, no matter which gender is on which side. I promise, that if you like my suit and say so, I won’t expect dinner.

4. Write Like You Would Talk. I don’t mean, like, ya know, er… *cough* relax your, erm, language. Ya know. If you aren’t going to say it in person, don’t post it online – in forums, via email, in blog comments or anywhere else.

5. Be Of One Mind. My conscience may not have talked to my subsconscience in a while, and my pre-frontal cortex may take the odd vacation, but I am the same person online as I am in person. Call me Nick or Nicholas. I have a sense of humour. I detest gossip, fear mongering, Laodicean coffee and country music. And so does the guy you’ll find on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, this blog, other blogs and everywhere else.

6. Are Ee Ess Pea Ee Sea Tea. Treat others as you wish to be treated, and your business online will prosper. You will attract people to your website, blog and other online spaces because they discover you are who you say you are. If someone looks you up from a URL on a brochure or business card, they will discover you are consistent.

So look your best online and in print. And not just with great looking graphics, but also with who you are.